Ask Prof Wolff: Individuals and Society

A Patron of Economic Update asks: “In a world where workers own the product of their own labor, and all institutions are democratic, is there still a need for taxes and welfare? If so: Why are they justified? What should their extent be? How should they be enforced? Here are 3 scenarios that keep me up at night: There is a beloved musician to whom millions of people decide to give money or material goods as voluntary gifts, making the musician extremely wealthy. This musician happens to perform only on nature reserves - not publicly maintained concert halls - and uses only their voice and a guitar they built themselves. Is this just? If not, how should society respond?